Niners' Shanahan says Jennings told him he's 'happy' with Vikings - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers did, in fact, come close to acquiring Minnesota Vikings receiver Jauan Jennings in a trade recently. But coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that Jennings' decision not to return to San Francisco came after he spoke to the 49ers' coach via video call.

The Niners had come close enough to a trade that the Vikings allowed Jennings to speak to Shanahan before completing the deal, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler on Sunday, confirming news first reported by Fox Sports. Shanahan said Wednesday that he and Jennings spoke about the potential for a reunion before Jennings ultimately opted to stay in Minnesota.

«We love Jauan,» Shanahan said. «We have such a good relationship with Jauan and know him real well, and we didn't want to do it without talking to him first. So, we had to agree on some things to at least make it close enough to be able to talk to him. And when we got on a FaceTime with JJ, it went well.

»We talked about a lot of stuff, and he ended up saying that he was happy with where he was. It wasn't just like a definite no at first, but he was like, 'Man, Kyle, I'm pretty happy here and liking stuff.'

«It was a good conversation,» the coach added, «and something that was possible, but that's why it didn't go down.»

Had the Niners reacquired Jennings, whom they selected in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft, it would have been their latest reunion with a key player who departed the team.

In the offseason, the team re-signed linebacker Dre Greenlaw and receiver Deebo Samuel. Last week, the Niners traded for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner six years after he left San Francisco for the Indianapolis Colts in a 2020 trade.

Because of the Niners' early success this